The President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, presented today in Lisbon the Grand Cross of the Order of the Infante Don Henrique to Isidro Fainé, President of the ”la Caixa” Banking Foundation. The event was also attended by Artur Santos Silva, trustee of the “la Caixa” Foundation and honorary president of BPI.
Isidro Fainé receives this award, the most important civil honorary distinction in Portugal, in recognition of his personal commitment over decades to foster synergies between this country and Spain in the banking, industrial and social fields.
The “la Caixa” Foundation plans to invest 50 million euros this year in Portugal in the development of social, educational, cultural and medical research programs that address the country's main priorities. At the business level, the Foundation's commitment to Portugal is articulated through the participation of its holding company, CriteriaCaixa, in CaixaBank (owner of the Portuguese bank BPI) and in other Portuguese listed companies, such as the Sonae group.
During the ceremony, the president of the "la Caixa" Foundation expressed his gratitude to the President of the Republic: "It is a great honor for me to receive an award of this importance, with such historical weight and that such illustrious personalities have received." Isidro Fainé has emphasized the Foundation's commitment to the country: "You can continue to count on my personal commitment and that of the institution I represent, to contribute as much as we can to the joint development of our countries."
The Order of the Infante Don Henrique is, together with the Order of Liberty, the most important civil honorary distinction of the Portuguese Republic. Among non-Portuguese people
who have received the Grand Cross over the years, include figures such as the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates; Queen Sofía; the philologist Fernando Lázaro Carreter; and the former presidents of the European Commission, Jacques Delors and Jean-Claude Juncker, among others.
